Folding beds



E. V. FAVER FOLDING BEDS May 9, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13,1957 JNVENTOR Ernest Vida/ jvc'fl ATTORNEYS y 1961 E. v. FAVER 2,982,973

FOLDING BEDS Filed June 13, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 1961 E. v. FAVER2,982,973

FOLDING BEDS Filed June 15, 1957 4 s t 3 FIG.3.

INVENTOE Ernest Vz'czor Fax 6P ATTORNEYS E. V. FAVER FOLDING BEDS May 9,1961 Filed June 13, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 8 AZTQENFYS United StatesPatent 2,982,913 FOLDING BEDS, 7

Ernest Victor Favr, Essex, England, assignor toW. Steel 8: Co, Limited,London, England, a British company This invention relates to foldingbeds. It has previously been proposed to construct a full-length foldingbed having a number of hinged longitudinal sections and a headboardwhich, when the bed is folded into compact formfis disposed horizontallyabove the folded frame and and at a height equivalent to the normalheight of a table, whereby the folded bed may be usefully employed as atable. Such a bed, whilst possessing most of the features and conformingto most of the usual dimensions of an ordinary single bed, was soarranged that the height of the frame from the ground, when in theextended position, was somewhat less than that of a normal norifoldingbed. I

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a folding bed whichwhen folded is of table height, so arranged that the height of theframe, when in extended condition, approximates to that of the frame ofa non-folding bed. Further objects of the invention are to restrict thenumber of hinged sections to as few as possible, to simplify theoperation of folding the bed, and to provide a bedthat will stand firmlyon a floor, both as a bed when in an extended condition, and as a tablewhen in a folded condition.

, According to the invention a folding bed comprises a folding frame fora mattress having a headboard attached thereto, a carriage or sub frameadapted t'o be the sole support of the frame when folded, the saidfrarnebeing pivotally'mounted in the' carriage or sub frame'so that inthefolded position it can be pivoted to bring the" headboard into ahorizontal position to act as a table surface and from the extendedposition it can be pivoted to bring the headboard to a vertical positionand be unfolded to act as a bed. 7

In a preferred form according to the invention a folding bed comprises asupporting frame for a mattress having a head-section and a foot-sectionof substantially equal length and a: shorter intermediate sectionhingedly connected to thehead-section and to the foot-section, acarriage orsub-frame adapted to be the sole support of the frame whenfolded, ,and to be a partial support of the frame when extended, saidhead-section being pivoted intermediately of its length to one side ofsaid carriage, one or more legs or like supports hingedly connected toeach section of the frame, and a headboard secured to said head-sectionadapted to be moved into a horizontal positionat table height when thebed is folded.

The bed may be conveniently folded by lifting the footsection,simultaneously turning it about the hingeconnectingit to theintermediate section, and turning the intermediate section about thehinge connecting it to the headsection, until the foot-section liesoverthe undisturbed head-section in parallel relationship therewith. Theextr'emity of the foot-section now lies adjacent the headboard and issecured thereto by meansprovided for the purpose. The headboard andfolded frame nowform a rigid rectangular structure which can be turnedabout the pivot connecting the head-section to the carriage, until theengagement of abutments, provided on the foot-section are preferably somounted, that they are automatically.

- 2 and the carriage, bring the rectangular structure to rest in aposition in which the head-section and foot-section are vertical, theheadboard is in a horizontal positionat table height and theintermediate section is in a horizontal position close to the floor.

The legs or like supports carried by the frame sections swung during afolding operation into positions alongside the said sections, and,conversely, are automatically swung into their supporting positionsduring an extending operation. The carriage is preferably supported oncasters, so as to increase the mobility of the'bed in both its foldedand extended conditions.

An embodimentof the invention will now be described,

by Way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:u n Figure 1 is a side elevation of a folding bed according to theinvention shown in its extended condition;

FigureZ is a plan view;

'Figure 3 is a sectional end elevation taken along th line A- -A ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 shows the bed at an intermediate stage 0 the folding operation,and Figure 5 shows the bed in its fully folded condition, converted foruse as a table.

The folding bed shown in the drawings comprises briefly a supportingframe for a mattress having a headsection 1, an intermediate section 2,and a foot-section 3, provided with supporting legs 4,15 and 6respectively, a carriage or sub-frame indicated generally at 7, and ahead board 8 secured to the head-section 1, the height'of the headboard8 is made at least equal to the: length of the upwardly from the corner.

bars have attached thereto a flexible wire mattress (not' shown) ofknown construction, for the support of a intermediate frame section 2.

The frame is formed of steel angle-bars. Considering the frame in itsextended condition as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the sides of eachangle-bar extend inwardly and The horizontal sides of the hair mattressor the like adapted to fit within the frame. The frame sections 1, 3 areof equal length, and have the form of three sides of a rectangle,thefree ends of' which are connected by hinge-pins 9, 10, respectively,

to the ends of the intermediate frame section 2 which comprises twoshort-angle-bars[approximately half the length of the frame sections 1,3. The foot-section 3 is braced by a stay 11 of tubular'steel'havingflattened offset ends welded to the underside of'the section at bers 20connectedby stays 21, and preferably pro-- points near its hinged ends.p 7

Each of the supports 4, 5, 6 is a tubular steel member of U-shape,connected at its ends to U-shaped brackets 12 on the frame by hinge-pins13. The base of each support is slightly curved in an upward directionso that contact with the floor is made only at two points spaced isstraight for the major portion of its length, being bent adjacent itsconnection to the corresponding bracket 17, 18, 19, to provide crankedportions at each end, which engage holes in a bracket and a supportrespectively, and which are secured by split-pins.

is extended.

The carriage 7 comprises two inverted U-shaped mem- The supports areheld by the links in 'a vertical position when the frame H vided withcastors 23. Each member 20 is a steel tube having a horizontalintermediate portion connected by bends to downwardly extending,slightly diverging legs, transverse bolts or studs 24, 25, beingprovided at the bends. One of the members 20 is located at each side ofthe frame, and each bolt 24 forms a pivot pin by which the head-section1 is pivotally supported at one side of the carriage. Each bolt 25 has aprojecting portion, which is adapted to be engaged by a bifurcated lug26 on the intermediate frame section 2, when the frame is in itsextended condition.

The head-board 8 comprises a wooden panel secured to the head section bya pair of upright angle-bars 27, secured at the corners of the section.The angle-bars are slightly shorter than the bars of the intermediateframe section, and each carries at its upper end a pivoted patch 28normally hanging alongside the angle-bar.

Referring particularly to Figures 4 and 5, it will be observed that thefolding operation is readily performed in two stages. Initially theextremity of the foot-section is lifted upwardly, causing the section toturn about the hinge 9. The foot section is then lifted bodily,simultaneously turning it about the hinge 10, and turning theintermediate section about the hinge 9, until the foot-section lies overthe undisturbed head-section in parallel relationship therewith. The endof the foot-section is now in engagement with the tops of the uprightangle bars 27 and is now secured thereto by lifting the latches 28 intoengagement with pins 29 on each side of the foot-section. As shown inFigure 4, the supports and 6 have been swung by the links 15, 16 duringthe folding operation, into a position alongside their respective framesections.

The folded frame forms with the head-board a rectangular structurerigidly maintained by the latches 28 assisted by the links 15, 16 andcan now be turned about the pivot pins 24 into a vertical position inwhich it is supported on one side of the carriage by the pins 24, and onthe other side of the carriage by the pins 25 which have become engagedby bifurcated lugs 30 on each side of the foot section 3. The supportingleg 4 has now been folded alongside the head-section 2 by the action ofthe links 14. 7

As can be seen in Figure 5, the stay 22, connecting the members 20 ofthe carriage, is located near the free ends of the members, so that itmay be cleared by the intermediate frame section, as the latter is swunginto its final position adjacent the floor. The stay 21 on the otherside of the carriage is located in a mid-position as shown.

A hair mattress (not shown) which lies on the frame and may be attachedby tapes thereto, need not be re moved, but can be folded with the'frameand accommodated within the said rectangular structure.

The head-board forms a convenient table top and cover for the foldedbed, and may be provided along its edges with a groove (not shown)adapted to receive an elastic wire or like means for supporting a drapeserving to conceal the folded structure.

A bed constructed as described above having, for example, a frame lengthwhen extended of 6' 2" and a height above the floor of 13", will fold toform a table 32 /2" x 20 /2" at a height of 32 /2" from the floor.

It is to be understood that the illustrated embodiment of the inventionis described by way of example only, and that the invention issusceptible of modification within the scope of the appended claims. Forexample, the foot-section may be releasably secured to the head-boardsupports by spring pressed latches, carried by the supports andautomatically actuated by the foot section. Instead of the legs being inthe form of U-shaped supports 4, 5, 6, the hinged leg on one side of theframe section may be unconnected with that on the other side of thesection and may be arranged for folding independently of the frame.Connected legs are preferable, however, particularly in the case of theintermediate section 2, the

4 angle-bars of which are not otherwise connected across the frame.

What I claim is:

1. A folding bed comprising a folding mattresssupporting frame formed bythree frame sections pivoted lengthwise successively oneto another, ahead board secured to an end one of said frame sections, means forlocking the mattress-supporting frame in its folded position to formwith the head board a rigid rectangular structure, a carriage forsupporting the said mattresssupporting frame, means pivotally mountingthe mattresssupporting frame on the said carriage to permit therectangularstructure to be swung bodily relative tqihe carriage from afirst, lengthwise vertically extending position to a second, lengthwisehorizontally extending position, and stop means on said carriage forengaging the frame to support the rectangular structure in thelengthwise vertically extending position, in which said stop means alsoserves as a support for the frame when in the extended position.

2. A folding bed having a foldable mattress-supporting frame comprisinga head section and a foot section of substantially equal length, anintermediate section shorter than the head and foot sections, and meanshingedly connecting the head and foot sections respectively to oppositeends of the intermediate section for swinging from an extended positionsubstantially coplanar with the intermediate to a folded positionextending at right angles thereto and parallel one with the other, ahead board secured to the head section at right angles thereto and of aheight at least equal to the length of the intermediate frame section,the said head board lying in parallel spaced relation to theintermediate sec tionwhen the frame is folded, means for detachablyconnecting the foot section to the head board when the frame is foldedwhereby the foot section, the intermediate section, the head section andthe head board form the sides of a rigid rectangular structure, acarriage constituting a sole support for the mattress-supporting framewhen folded, and means pivotally mounting the rectangular structure onthe carriage for bodily swinging movement froma first position in whichthe head and foot sections extend vertically and the head board lieshorizontally to provide a table surface to a second position in whichthe head and foot sections extend horizontally in the same direction andfrom which the frame sections can be unfolded to the extended position,and a leg hingedly connected to each frame section for supporting thesection when the frame is in the extended position.

3. A folding bed comprising a folding mattresssupp orting frame formedby three frame sections pivoted lengthwise successively one to anotherto form an end one, an intermediate one and another end one, a headboard secured to the end one of said frame sections, means for lockingthe mattress-supporting frame in its folded position to form with thehead board a rigid rectangular structure, a carriage for supporting thesaid mattress-supporting frame, means pivotally mounting themattress-supporting frame on the said carriage to permit the rectangularstructure to be swung bodily rclative to the carriage from a first,lengthwise vertically extending position to a second, lengthwisehorizontally extending position, in which the said carriage comprises apair of floor-engaging supports secured together in spaced relation tolie one at each side of the mattresssupporting frame, the frame lyingwithin the said supports, and the said pivotal mounting means comprisesa pivotal connection on the end one of said frame sections intermediatethe length thereof to the said floorengaging supports, a foldablefloor-engaging member on the end one of said frame sections, movable toits floorengaging position upon said swinging of the rectangularstructure to the second position to support the rectangular structure inthe lengthwise horizontally extending position and stop means comprisingan inwardly projecting abutment on said floor-engaging supports and alug on the another end one of the frame section with the abutmentengageable with the lug, the said abutment also engaging a lug on theintermediate one of said three frame sections when themattress-supporting frame is in the extended position to provide asupport for the said intermediate frame section when in the horizontallyextending position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,253,391 Klok Jan. 15, 1918 6 Klok Sept. 17, 1918 Inco Mar. 7, 1922Kita May 28, 1929 Creveling et a1 Dec. 29, 19 53 Caroleo Oct. 30, 1956FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Sept. 10, 189 1 7 Canada Oct. 21, 1952 GreatBritain Apr. 13, 1955

